Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has said that Iran does not recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea “despite excellent relations between Tehran and Moscow” in an interview with TRT World.
Iran opposes Russia’s military aggression and displacement of people in Ukraine and hopes for political solutions to end the war, he added. At the same time, the minister considers the actions of NATO and the West to be the main cause of the invasion.
For months Iran has supplied weapons to Russia, including Shahed drones that have been used to target critical civilian infrastructure. The US, the EU, and Canada have already imposed sanctions against Iran for military assistance to Russia.
In November 2022, Pentagon said that the US had “concerns” that Russia might “seek to acquire additional advanced munition capabilities from Iran,” CNN informed.
“We do have concerns that Russia may also seek to acquire additional advanced munition capabilities from Iran, for example, surface-to-surface missiles, to use in Ukraine,” Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said.
In December 2022, senior Biden administration officials said Russia provided an “unprecedented level” of military and technical support to Iran in exchange for Tehran supplying weapons for the war in Ukraine, NBC News reported.
